Conventional continuous flow centrifuges raise several concerns with regard to leaking and/or contamination. For example, in conventional continuous flow centrifuges, when a length of tubing is fixedly attached to the rotation axis of a device which contains the fluid material to be centrifuged, the entire length of tubing must be rotated by use of rotating seals or other means to avoid twisting the tubing. However, these seals too frequently become the source of leaks and/or contamination.
Umbilical-like arrangements for use with continuous flow centrifuges have been disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,216,770, 4,419,089, 4,389,206, and 5,665,048. However, these solutions do not adequately address the high stresses and strains imparted on the tubes due to the g-forces created by rotating the centrifuge at high speeds and/or due to the continuous fluid flow necessary to substantially immobilize particles. Moreover, rotating the centrifuge at high speeds creates increased “partial” twisting action of the umbilical system and the tubes contained therein, and the arrangements disclosed to date do not allow the umbilical system and the tubes contained therein to be rotated at a high rate of speed for an acceptable amount of time before failing. In other words, it is believed that the aforementioned solutions simply do not allow the systems to be “scaled up” to an appreciable degree and do not allow the system to be rotated at high rates of speed without rapid and catastrophic failure of the tubing system.
For small-scale operations, the elimination of rotary seals or the like may address some contamination concerns with regard to conventional continuous flow centrifuges. However, other contamination concerns remain. For example, the fluid flow paths may become contaminated over time (e.g., after more than one use), unless the utmost care is taken in cleaning and/or sterilization. A disposable fluid flow path (or multiple disposable fluid flow paths) could eliminate the need for expensive and time-consuming cleaning, and could help ensure contamination-free operations. The disposable fluid flow paths would preferably be easily replaceable, and would be adaptable to a system that would allow the system as a whole to be “scaled-up,” as discussed above.